Air-moistening device



March 17, 1931. s. c. CUTLER AIR MOISTENING DEVICE Filed Oct. 29, 1926 IN VENTOR. 4; MN

Patented Mar." 17, 1931 SAMUEL C. CUTLER, OF MURRAY HILL, NEW JERSEY AIR-MOISTENING DEVICE Application as October 29, 1926. Serial No. 145,009.

This invention relates to air moistening devices, and more particularly to devices intended to pass a stream of gas or other fluid through a centrifugally created spray. An

5 object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described which will operate efliclently, economically, and which will be slmple to construct and reliable in its performance. A further object is toprovide a device of the character described, which, with a m1n1mum of apparatus will produce a maxlmum of finely divided spray. A further object is to'provide a device which, with a single spraying element, will provide a spray having appreciable depth in the direction of movement of the, gas.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part described hereinafter.

It has heretofore been proposed, in my prior application Serial #143,388, filed October 22nd, 1926, of. which this invention is an improvement, to moisten-air by inserting in a reservoir of water the apex of a cone,

which is rapidly rotated upon a vertical axis 25 within a casing. Such rotation produces a thin sheet of water discharged from the upper periphery of the cone, which, a short distance from the cone, becomes divided more or less ,into a spray. Thus, air passed through the casing passes through this sheet or spray andis cooled and moistened and cleansed with more or less efiiciency.

Where considerable contact between the gas and the liquid is required, however, the

passage of the gas through this single sheet or thin spray proves insuflicient. It has heretofore been proposed to remedy this defect by passing the air successivelythrough a plurallty of such sprays. This expedient, how- 40 ever, is unsatisfactory. First, because of the complication of the apparatus involved and Y the consequent cost of construction, and sec ond, because-such sprays are so fiat, that is,

they possess so little depth, that a large number of themis required to give appreciable contact between the liquid and the gas.

In accordance with this invention, it has been found thateach element of the cone, extending uninterruptedly, discharges its quota at its upper edge so that, if the upper edge of different elements of the cone lie in different planes of rotation the depth of the spray can be increased substantially to any extent desired. The method employed, however, should be such as not to interfere with .the free flow of the liquid to the periphery, or-a portion of the benefit will be lost. 3

The practical form .of disposition of the peripheral elements of the cone is that which is here chosen for illustration.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope or the -application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection'with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section through an apparatus embodyingthis invention. Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is afragmentary view of the cone, showing the serrated edges.

. In the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a casing, closed at the bottom as shown at 2, to form a receptacle adapted to contain water and having at the top a plate 3 having a plurality of openings 4; and 5 serving as inlets and outlets for the. gas to be washed. A bafiie 6 extends downwardly from the plate and separates the inlet and outlet, thereby directingthe incomnig air downwardly from the bottom of the vessel. A motor 7 is carried by the top 3 and may be bolted thereto.

Its shaft 9 is ,vertical and carries a. fan 10. A hub 11 is-attached to the shaft by set screws 12and carries a cone pumping element 13, with the axis of the cone co-incident with the axis of the shaft. This cone is supported upon a spider 14: upon the lower end of the hub 11 and may be attached thereto by a screw -15.

The cone has an inlet 16 in its bottom to permit the water within the sump to reach the interior of theco ne The relative position of the parts is such that when the cover 3 is in place upon the receptacle, the lower end of the cone dips substantially to the bottom 2, while its upper edge 17 is spaced adjacent to, but slightly below, the lower edge 18 of the baflie 6.

The fan 10 is so arranged as to cause the air to move upwardly within the baflle 6, thereby sucking the air downwardly, exterior to the bafiie. The upper edge 17 of the cone is serrated, as shown.

In operation, when the motor has attained speed, the rotation of the cone 13 will cause the water upon its interior to flow upwardly, to be discharged at the edge 17. By reason, however, of the serration of the upper edge, the spray issuing from it is of a thickness substantially equal to the depth of the notches in the cone. The air drawn inwardly through the inlet 4, -passing downwardly, passes through the outer edge of the spray into the vessel, below the spray, then upward through it again passing around the lower edge of the baflie 6. In this manner the air is carried twice through the full thickness of the spray. By reason of the fact that the spray is of considerable depth, the air comes more in timately into contact with the spray particles than is possible where the water is discharged in a thin sheet from the upper edge of an unserrated cone.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodi- 'ing drawing shall ments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanye interpreted as illustrative and not in a 'miting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a mat- ,ter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described myainvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: I

1. An air humidifying. device of the character described having a pump, said pump being substantially in the shape of a hollow inverted cone, the pump being designed to rotate and draw a liquid therewithin through an opening in its apex, the upper periphery of the cone lying in a'plurality of different planes of ro-tationi" 2. An 'air humidifier of the character described having a pump in the shape of a hollow, inverted cone apertured at its apex, means gfor rotating. the pump to draw fluid therewithin toward the periphery, the periphery being in the form of a serrated edge adapted'to form'a thick band of spray as the In testimony whereof I affix my signature. f

SAMUEL C. CUTLER. 

